A sharp increase in the price of uranium can spark a renewed interest in uranium mining around the world. Most of the (non-stockpiled) uranium to be consumed in nuclear reactors in the United States presently comes from foreign sources, which reflects that the most inexpensively produced highest grade uranium deposits lay outside the United States. In a free market economy these imports from foreign sources will remain important. Therefore, it would be wise planning to build a “buffer” mechanism into the nuclear energy strategy to minimize the impact of foreign uranium suppliers on the United States economy.
The United States fortunately has significant indigenous uranium deposits, especially in the western part of the country. These deposits may be developed to provide a steady feed of domestic uranium or be held in readiness as a stopgap measure against adverse policies initiated by foreign uranium suppliers. However, earlier “uranium booms” in the United States have left a legacy of cultural and environmental concerns with some stakeholders who would be most directly impacted by a resurgence of uranium mining in (or near) their communities.
In situ recovery (“ISR”) of uranium is a technique that allows for uranium extraction while avoiding many of the environmental impacts of other mining activities. In principal, ISR entails circulating a uranium-leaching fluid down one well into an underground ore deposit, and then bringing the fluid back to the surface through a second well (or array of wells). A chemical treatment plant is located at the site to recover the uranium from the fluid. The only waste that cannot be removed when the site closes is in the residual fluid left underground in the aquifer.
Groundwater resources in the desert southwest of the United States are a matter of ever increasing importance to stakeholders, communities, and regulators. Consequently, being able to demonstrate that an ISR-impacted aquifer could be reliably remediated (restored) may be a factor in being allowed initial set up of ISR activity adjacent to a community. Additionally, technology advances which can improve the efficiency of the uranium extraction process would be viewed favorably by the mining industry.